TEPCO interested in Texas nuclear project

TEPCO investment in STP 3 and 4 faces uncertainty as CPS Energy and NRG Energy clash over project costs, risking federal loan guarantees for the Bay City nuclear expansion using ABWR reactors under NINA.

NRG Energy may be locked in battle with San Antonio utility CPS Energy over the expansion of the South Texas Project nuclear power plant, but it appears there's another party waiting in the wings: Japanese utility giant Tokyo Electric Power Co.

A spokesman for the company says it is mulling an investment in the two-reactor expansion to the existing plant near Bay City, as new reactor applications continue to be filed, according to Reuters.

The project is one of four on a short list for $18.5 billion in federal loan guarantees, but a dispute over the project costs has CPS trying to pull out of the joint venture it is in with NRG Energy to build the new units. A multi-billion dollar lawsuit is getting underway now, which, alongside delays at another Texas project, threatens to pull the project out of contention for the loans.

Given the legal brawl underway, a TEPCO deal is a bit of a side issue at the moment, as NRG expansion plans face uncertainty, said NRG CEO David Crane in a statement:

"Given the dispute between CPS and NINA, and related settlement news, the subject of additional partners in the project is not particularly relevant at present. Tokyo Electric, as the largest owner and operator of ABWR plants in the world, has acted for three years as a consultant to CPS Energy and NINA in respect of the STP 3 and 4 project. For our part at NRG and NINA, we have the highest respect for Tokyo Electric and believe that they strengthen the project in any capacity in which they participate."

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